McNerney bill would bar federal money from Delta plan

U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, has introduced a bill to block any federal money from being used for the state’s twin tunnels project.

The water users who stand to benefit are expected to pay for the tunnels themselves.

But the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, as it’s formally known, also calls for more than $3.5 billion in federal money to pay for other parts of the plan, including the restoration of wetland habitat in the Delta.

McNerney’s one-page bill would prohibit any such funding, but only for fiscal year 2015. Asked how likely it was that the federal government would allocate money for the project so soon, given delays recently announced by the state, McNerney said Thursday that he didn’t want to take any chances.

“It could happen,” said McNerney, who is running for re-election in November. “It’s my job to make sure that it doesn’t.”

The bill is identical to an earlier amendment that “didn’t go anywhere,” McNerney said.

“We have to use every tool at our disposal,” he said.

The bill comes after the Environmental Protection Agency, a federal entity, recently expressed concern about the tunnels project, saying the tunnels could violate the law. McNerney said his bill is not in response to the EPA’s findings, though he said the agency’s comments were “encouraging.”

Overall, water users would pay for about 68 percent of the $24.5 billion tunnels plan. The state would pay about 17 percent and the feds about 14 percent.

McNerney’s opponent this November, retired U.S. marshal Tony Amador, called the bill “political” in nature and said McNerney should be working on more substantive legislation to solve the state’s water problems.

Both candidates are on record opposing the tunnels. But McNerney’s proposal to block federal money “does nothing,” Amador said.

“It’s a gesture in politics,” he said. “It’s grandstanding. We ought to be allocating money for storage or (water) recycling projects. Language that does something positive.”

Democrats John Garamendi of Walnut Grove and Ami Bera of Elk Grove have also signed onto McNerney’s legislation.

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/breitlerblog and on Twitter @alexbreitler.